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Corleone crime family
The Corleone crime family is one of the Five Families operating in New York. It was formed by Don Vito Corleone and the two men who would later become his caporegimes, Peter Clemenza and Salvatore Tessio, who fronted their operations by starting the Genco Pura Olive Oil Company, named after Don Vito's Consigliere, Genco Abbandando. They became the most powerful crime family in America after defeating Salvatore Maranzano in the early 1930s, and by the end of the decade the organization was run from a compound in Long Beach. However, in the mid 1940s, a business proposition from Tattaglia drug kingpin Virgil Sollozzo nearly destroyed the family, hospitalising Don Vito Corleone and forcing his eldest son Sonny in action. The situation was further escalated when the youngest Corleone brother Michael killed Sollozzo and his Police Captain bodyguard, Mark McCluskey, forcing him to flee to Sicily and starting a mob war. The war claimed the life of acting don Sonny, and the still weak Don Vito sued for peace with the other families, realising that his true enemy was not Tattaglia, but Emilio Barzini, who was attempting to crush the Corleones and take over their position as the most powerful family. After Don Vito's retirement and later death from a heart attack, the family business was taken over by Michael, who exacted vengeance on the rival family's dons along with Moe Greene, Carlo Rizzi and Sal Tessio for conspiring with the rival heads. Micheal later moved the family to Las Vegas, Nevada. Michael was attempting to make his business legitimate, but was drawn back into crime after a failed attempt on his life by Miami gangster and old friend and business partner of the Corleone family, Hyman Roth, who was attempting to stop the takeover of Las Vegas. This action resulted in Roth's death as well as the death of Michael's own brother Fredo, who had unwittingly conspired against the Corleones. The Corleone family continued to struggle on, and was almost completely legitimate by the end of the 1970s. During that time the boss of the Corleone crime faction, Joey Zasa, aligned with Tattaglia boss Osvaldo Altobello, and both orchestrated a major assassination attempt in Atlantic City. Shortly after, Joey Zasa was killed himself at a festival in Little Italy. In 1980 Michael Corleone finally got out, handing the business over to his nephew Vincent Mancini, requesting that he called himself Vincenzo Corleone. Vito Corleone's family structure *Don - Vito Corleone *Underboss - Santino Corleone, Michael Corleone *Consigliere - Genco Abbandando, Tom Hagen *Caporegimes - Peter Clemenza, Salvatore Tessio *Soldatis - Paulie Gatto, Willie Cicci, Rocco Lampone, Dino DiMiceli *Enforcers - Luca Brasi, Al Neri Michael Corleone's family structure *Don - Michael Corleone *Underboss - Fredo Corleone, Peter Clemenza, Nick Geraci, Al Neri *Consigliere - Peter Clemenza, Tom Hagen *Caporegimes - Peter Clemenza, Frank Pentangeli, Al Neri, Rocco Lampone, Nick Geraci, Eddie Paradise, Richard Nobilio, Carmine Rosato, Tony Rosato, Joey Zasa *Soldatis - Willie Cicci, Cosimo Barone, Carmine Marino, Renzo Sacripante, Tommy Neri, Gaetano Paternostro, Dino DiMiceli, Willie Binaggio, Vincent Mancini, Lou Pennino, Angelo Granelli, Francis Forducci, Gino Fredonna, Frank Darra, Chris Pennari, Nino Arneldi, Ricardo Siminni, Gino Corsetta, Sabastino Sabela, Alphonse Evolloni, Donato Tolentinicci, Victor Vinatonni, Frank Corteale, Bartolo Neni, Lawrence Tippirri, Peter Leone, Gaetano De Luna, Calogero Raoeni, Ettore Raoeni, Joseph Bronski, Gaetano Sirillo, Cassandros Fracca, Roberto Nelenza, Rafilo Gernzo, Salvatore Plumari, Natale Parri, Tony DiNegio, Charles Locirno, Carmine Coronda, Samuel Corocco, Alphonse Barino, Carmen Della, Cristoforo D`Binna *Enforcers - Anthony Squigliaro Historical leadership Bosses * 1925-1945, 1948-1955 — Vito Corleone * Acting 1945-1948 — Santino Corleone * Acting 1954-1955 — Michael Corleone * 1955-1980 — Michael Corleone * 1980-2005 — Vincent Mancini Underbosses * 1940-1948 — Santino Corleone * 1950-1955 — Michael Corleone * 1955-1958 — Peter Clemenza * 1955-1959 — Fredo Corleone * 1959-1962 — Nick Geraci * 1959-1980 — Albert Neri Consiglieres * 1925-1945 — Genco Abbandando * 1945-1954 — Thomas Hagen * 1956-1957 — Peter Clemenza The new regimes When Michael left the businesses in New York, accompanied by his caporegimes Rocco Lampone and Al Neri, Nick Geraci and Aldo Trapani stayed behind to form their own regimes. While not separate factions as such, they acted independently of the main organization in Nevada. When Aldo Trapani was later killed in Havana whilst trying to escape the Cuban revolution, he was succeeded by Dominic Corleone. Clemenza's family After Michael made the move to Nevada, his fomer capo Peter Clemenza was allowed to stay behind to form his own family, based in lower Manhattan and the Bronx. It still used the Corleone name despite being a separate faction. Salvatore Tessio, another one of Don Micheal's capos, was supposed to be the family's joint head along with Clemenza, though when his plot with Barzini to assasinate Micheal was uncovered, he was killed. As a result of this, Pete went on to run his family by himself. When Clemenza died of a supposed heart attack in 1958 he was succeeded by Frank Pentangeli. At this time, former caporegimes Carmine and Tony Rosato left and began their own families. When Pentangeli turned states Richard Nobilio succeeded him and later Joey Zasa was given this territory by the Commission. Notes It was said that both Coppola and Puzo would make The Godfather IV, which would be about the ending of the Corleone family and the death of Vincenzo Mancini-Corleone, as he lead the family into drug dealing, despite the dons before him despising this business, and eventually bringing about the family's demise. The Corleone dynasty would end in 2005, so the Corleones would have lasted for 80 years. Trivia *The real life Corleone crime family, also known as the ''Corleonesi'', became under the leadership of Toto Riina the most powerful Sicilian crime group after they had fought a bloody mafia war against their rivals in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Gallery File:Vlcsnap-2010-06-30-00h26m15s63.png|The Corleone family in 1945. File:Corleone family 1958.jpg|The Corleone family in 1958. File:Vlcsnap-2010-06-25-23h33m56s199.png|The Corleone family in 1979. Category: Families